Jim Mustian and Joshua Goodman exclusively obtained a trove of thousands of secret law enforcement documents to tell the blockbuster story of a group of federal narcotics agents who used the pretense of international money laundering investigations to fund a worldwide joyride of binge drinking and illicit sex — including one agent who was accused of rape.
Among the documents they obtained was a recovered WhatsApp chat that agents used to plan their “world debauchery tour” across Europe and the Caribbean on the government’s dime. They used it to exchange images of their latest sexual conquests.
Within months of that shocking exchange, one of the agents in the chat was arrested in Spain and charged with that very crime.
That 2018 case set off alarm bells at the highest levels of the DEA and the agency refused to talk about it for years. But the documents Mustian and Goodman obtained, along with a first-ever interview with the alleged victim, allowed them to offer the clearest picture yet of what happened. U.S. officials got involved, the case was abruptly dismissed and the agent was returned to duty with only a letter of reprimand.
And as for the broader corruption surrounding this case, the documents showed that other than a single agent who was arrested four years ago and sent to prison, no other DEA agents allegedly tied to this joyride have faced any criminal charges.
Visit AP.org to request a trial subscription to AP’s video, photo and text services.
For breaking news, visit apnews.com.
Submission Links
https://bit.ly/46stKMMRelated articles
